Team Bonding
by dashofnutmeg
Summary: The Gryffindor quidditch team does an activity together, but not everyone is having fun.


**Author Note:** This story is for QLFC Round 9

BEATER 1: Love of My Life by Queen

Lyric Chosen: "You've broken my heart and now you leave me"

Optional Prompts: (words) rock n' roll, (object) microphone

Word Count: 1117

* * *

Rock n' roll music blared from the common room of Gryffindor. It was so loud that Katie Bell could hear it from outside in the corridor as she approached the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Wattlebird," proclaimed Katie to the Fat Lady even before she had asked for the password.

"What?" asked the Fat Lady.

Katie assumed the Fat Lady had been unable to hear her over the loud music coming from within, so she shouted the password again — just as the lull between songs began. Her shout echoed in the corridor, startling the Fat Lady.

"Dear child, do you want all of Hogwarts to know our password? Thank Merlin today is the last day for it." The Fat Lady scowled and waited until she finished her complaint before swinging her portrait open to allow Katie access to Gryffindor Tower.

Katie climbed through the hole in the wall and entered the common room just as the next song was beginning. The rest of her quidditch teammates were gathered together on the far side of the room. They all faced Oliver Wood, their captain, and Katie's boyfriend, who held a strange object in his hand. Oliver was singing into the object along with the song, and all of the people gathered were watching him in awe.

_He might be a bit tone-deaf, but there's no denying he has charisma_, Katie thought. It was what had drawn her to him in the first place — like all of the other Gryffindor girls who swooned after him — but she was the lucky one who got to call Oliver hers.

Once the song was over, Katie approached the group and asked what they were doing.

"It's this odd muggle thing called _karaoke_," Oliver stated, butchering the pronunciation of the last word. "Music comes out of this thing," He gestured to a strange metal box on the table and then to the object in his hand, "and you sing into this. Apparently, Muggles do this all the time for fun."

Alicia Spinnet, one of Katie's fellow chasers, stood up and took the object from Oliver's hand. "You just sing along with the song into this _microphone_," she emphasized, "and then everyone laughs when you forget the words. I used to do this with my Muggle friends back home and I thought it would be great fun for us to do together as a team."

"It's quite fun," said Oliver. "As long as you don't mind my rubbish singing."

"Come off it, Oliver," Alicia countered. "It's not about how the singer sounds, it's about how they feel. And you sing with plenty of feeling." Alicia smiled brightly at Oliver as she mimicked one of his singing poses.

Oliver smiled and turned slightly red at Alicia's statement, and Katie couldn't help but feel a bit of gnawing in the pit of her stomach. Why was Alicia complimenting Oliver like this? And why did Oliver look so giddy at her words? They weren't usually this friendly toward one another and it did not sit well with Katie.

Katie turned to their new seeker, Harry Potter. If Oliver wanted to flirt with another girl then she could flirt with another guy.

"Harry, have you gone yet?" she asked sweetly. "I'd love to hear you."

Harry looked up in surprise, but didn't reply right away.

"N-no," he finally stammered. "Alicia and Oliver are the only ones to try it so far."

"He'll have to wait till next time," interrupted Alicia quickly. "It's getting late and I have to go upstairs and study for my Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L. Besides," she continued, staring somewhat dreamily at Oliver, "I don't think anyone could beat Oliver after that last performance."

Oliver blushed again and watched Alicia as she picked up the microphone and the strange metal box that the music had come from. As Alicia ascended the stairs to her dormitory he was still watching her.

"Well then, I suppose we should all do our work then. There's no way I'm going to let any of our professors deduct points from our house for turning in late work."

Katie stayed next to Oliver as the rest of her teammates filed up the stairs to their respective dormitories.

"Good, I was hoping you would stay back with me for a spell," said Oliver once the others were out of earshot. "There's something we need to talk about."

Those were ominous words to hear from your boyfriend. Katie spun around to face Oliver, to see if she could read the emotions on his face. It was handsome as always, but this time it was expressionless.

Oliver grabbed Katie's hand and led her to a set of chairs next to the fireplace and gestured for her to sit across from him.

After glancing around the common room to be sure they were alone, Oliver looked into Katie's eyes, his face softer now.

"Katie," he began, followed by a pause. She could tell he was searching for just the right words. "I don't know what I would have done without you by my side these past few months. This has been a strange quidditch season, and an even stranger year at Hogwarts, but you've been my partner and confidant through it all."

"Of course, Oliver," said Katie. "You know I would do anything for you, for us. I love you."

"I know you do," replied Oliver quickly, implying to Katie that he wanted her to let him finish. "But for me, things have changed. I think it's best we see other people." Oliver looked down at the floor, unable to look into Katie's eyes any longer.

Katie's eyes began to well up with tears. This couldn't be happening. How could her true love be saying this to her after all of their talks of the future? He was going to play in the British and Irish Quidditch League and she was going to get a job with the Daily Prophet so she could travel with him and report on the games. Merlin's beard - they had even picked out names for their future children!

Before she had a chance to speak, Oliver rose from his chair.

"You probably need some space now. I'll go upstairs," Oliver said, beginning to walk away.

"Typical Oliver Wood," sobbed Katie, barely intelligible. "You've broken my heart and now you leave me."

Oliver glanced back at Katie before climbing the stairs, but she had turned to face the fireplace once more.

In the back of her mind, Katie knew that once she got over the initial shock she would be able to have any boy at Hogwarts, but right now all she wanted to do was cry.


End file.
